NFL settles with former players over concussion lawsuits, agreeing to $765 million payout over 20 years.

As one of the highest profile Pro Football Hall of Fame plaintiffs included in a lawsuit against the NFL seeking relief for the prolonged effects of concussions during his career, Eric Dickerson could hardly contain himself.

“It’s not great,” the former Los Angeles Rams and Raiders star running back tweeted out Thursday. “But it’s something.”

A tentative settlement announced that may force the league to pay out $765 million in claims over the next 20 years to benefit as many as 18,000 retired players was met with a somewhat understated response by those closest involved.

Many, in fact, are not around to even benefit from it.

Dickerson, who lives in Calabasas, was one of some 4,500 former players who sued the league in some 260-plus separate claims, claiming it hid medical reports that warned they could suffer from things such as depression, dementia, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s Disease as a result of head injuries during their career.

The family of former USC star and San Diego Chargers linebacker Junior Seau, who committed suicide at age 43 last year as a result of his medical conditions, was also part of the suit.

“Had a high-profile player like Junior not committed suicide, I don’t think this settlement would have happened,” Gary Plummer, Seau’s former Chargers teammate, told USA Today. “I can remember speaking about this, saying, ‘If something good comes of this, then, at least Junior didn’t die in vain.’ And obviously this is something very good that is coming of this. . . . You have to look at things positively and just be happy that this settlement occurred.”

The estate of the late Chicago Bears star Dave Duerson was also part of the suit. Like Seau, Duerson killed himself by a gunshot to the chest as a way to preserve his brains for further autopsy research. Seau and Duerson, like many former NFL players, were found to be suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.

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The NFL, which made $9.5 billion in revenue last year, would appear to come out as the immediate winner as far as just numbers go, seeking some resolution a week before the 2013 season begins.

Of the total agreement, $675 million is earmarked as compensation immediately to treat former players currently suffering the worst. If the appointed physicians treating players find more need help and it exceeds that amount, there is a provision where the NFL would contribute some $37 million more to that fund, but in theory it could run out at some point in time.

Another $75 million is supposed to go toward giving baseline medical exams to former players who could be affected down the road.

The last $10 million is set aside for medical, safety and injury-related research.

The league not only appears to have avoided any liability in the decision and will not have to disclose files it has kept about its findings through its own Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee, but it has to only make payments of $382 million over the next three years – that’s half the total settlement -- with the rest spread out over 17 years afterward.

The proposed settlement does not include claims against the Riddell helmet company, which was also part of the original lawsuit.

There are several hurdles yet to be worked out as how the payouts will get to those in need. Those already dealing with pre-existing conditions are said to be eligible in receiving as much as $5 million if they have Alzheimer’s. Those with the CTE diagnosis are to get as much as $4 million. Dementia patients can recoup as much as $3 million, said lead plaintiffs’ lawyer Christopher Seeger.

Already, misunderstandings in interpreting how those will be compensated have been circulating in social media circles and drawing ire. If everyone who filed a suit were to receive an equal share of the settlement, it would average out to just $170,000. Retired players can also opt out of the settlement and continue to pursue their individual claims against the league.

After two months of negotiations, Senior U.S. District Judge Anita Brody, acting on the recommendation of court-appointed mediator Layn Phillips, announced the proposed agreement in Philadelphia. It will be likely approved, according to reports, at “a later date.”

Phillips called the agreement “historic” during a release on the website nflconcussionlitigation.com, which has been a clearing house for information about the injury issue.

The NFL Players Union , which has refrained from being part of any lawsuits, released a rather nebulous response: “All of the plaintiffs involved are part of our player community & we look forward to learning more about the settlement.”

No current players are part of this deal.

Kevin Turner, a 44-year-old running back with Philadelphia and New England battling with ALS, said in a teleconference Thursday that he can benefit immediately from this decision rather than wait for it to drag out.

“It’s been a struggle to get to this point, but today … I am very proud that the NFL has decided to stand up for all the former players who are suffering from brain injuries,” said Turner. “The compensation provided in this settlement will lift the huge burden off the men who are suffering right now, both them and their and families. It will give them the peace of mind to have the best quality of life they are able to have. They’ll no longer have to make decisions regarding their health based on what they can afford.”

Steve Young, the Hall of Fame quarterback who began his pro career with the United State Football League’s L.A. Express in the mid-1980s, ended it with a series of concussions as a member of the San Francisco 49ers. He called the decision another step in the process of both the players and owners getting more aligned on how to treat this issue going forward.

“This is a profound thing that happened, because those players are suffering,” Young said on ESPN. “The brain and concussions seem to be in a lot of ways the last mystery in science. Players yesterday, today and tomorrow want to understand the assumption of the risk. People have dangerous jobs everywhere – bull riders, parachute firefighters, policemen – and they understand the risk. Until that’s clear, let’s find out what are we facing and what are the long-term effects together so we can make a judgment.”

In court arguments in April, NFL lawyer Paul Clement asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuits and send them to arbitration under terms of the players’ contract. He said that individual teams bear the chief responsibility for health and safety under the collective bargaining agreement, along with the players’ union and the players themselves.

Players lawyer David Frederick accused the league of concealing studies linking concussions to neurological problems for decades.